Music

About the Organ

The choir loft is prominently graced by a beautiful and historic pipe organ.  It was built by the Brown Organ Company of Wilmington, Delaware in 1908.  This organ was originally installed in a church in Gainesville, Texas, but was moved to St. Mary’s High Hill in 1935.  An organ of similar vintage and age is located in the nearby church at Praha, Texas, but is no longer functional.

The High Hill instrument contains over 400 individual pipes and operates on pressurized air blowing through these pipes – there are no speakers or amplifiers.  Electricity is only used to operate the bellows, which provides the compressed air, and lights for the organist sitting at the organ bench.  Keys and stops are mechanically operated with a system of wooden components connected by leather straps and metal pins.  When a key is pressed, these mechanisms allow air to flow into the select pipe valve, creating a sound unique to that stop.  Couplers also allow combinations of stops and manuals to be played at once.

The instrument was significantly restored by Russell Franklin in 1986.  A photo montage commemorating that restoration is hanging in the parish hall.  Other minor repairs and maintenance have been conducted in the time since, as the parish continues to maintain this instrument in working condition; it is still in regular use today.  In an era when the Church relies ever more heavily on electronic and modern instruments, this organ serves as a testament to the dedication of the High Hill parish community for preserving its rich history and traditions.

Organ Stop List

Great

• 8' Dulciana
• 8' Open Diapason
• 8' Melodia

Swell (enclosed)

• 8' Stopped Diapason
• 8' Violin Diapason
• 4' Violina

Pedal

• 16' Bourdon

Couplers (mechanical tracker action)

• Great to Pedal
• Swell to Pedal
• Swell to Great